Being A Carter
by iluvfriendsus
Summary: A perspective of the Carby relationship through the eyes of their daughter.


Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me.  I write this solely for entertainment purposes.

                                                Being A Carter

My name is Sydney Marie Carter.  This story is not mine own.  This is the story of my parents John and Abigail Carter.  I wanted to write this to prove to the world that true love really does exist.   Their story is proof that you can be happy with one person for your entire life.  I know, because I have witnessed this happiness everyday of my life.  And I'm so lucky.

            I have the unfortunate task of being the middle child born to my parents.  I have a brother who is 3 years older than me.  His name is Jonathan Truman Carter, but we call him Nathan.  He is 19 and just started Premed at Illinois State.  I wish I could be him sometimes.  He's so smart and he's Mom and Dad's pride and joy.  

            I have a younger sister.  Her name is Noelle Christine Carter she is 10 years old.  I was 6 when she was born and was not overly thrilled about not being the baby anymore. Noelle is special because she was born on Christmas Day.  Mom and Dad call her their special gift because of her birthday and also because she was a complete surprise.  I suppose some surprises are good.

            I guess beginnings are always the best place to start.  My parents were good friends with sexual chemistry for two years before they did anything about it.  That doesn't surprise me because both of my parents are pretty stubborn.  They like to have things their own way.  It's cute to watch them fight, but sometimes it can get pretty ugly.  Of course, they always kiss and make up which makes me want to get physically ill.  Anyway, to get back to the point, they finally shared their first kiss due to a lockdown of the hospital they were both quarantined in for two weeks.  They have never shared all the details of what happened during those two weeks of quarantine, but I do know that this was the start of their relationship.

            They dated happily for a year.  They were not without their problems, however. My Mom is a recovering alcoholic and so her drinking problems would sometimes start arguments between Mom and Dad.  But one day she said she decided that she was happy with Dad, and wanted to be with him forever.  So she chose him over the bottle, and never went back.  I can't help but think that was a good choice for her to make.

            After they had dated a year, my Dad proposed.  Apparently, he took her down to the riverfront bench they often shared on their work breaks and popped the question.  Mom said she was never happier than at that moment.  She couldn't wait to be Mrs. John Carter.  They got married on April 19, 2003.  Mom said all the people that they cared about in the whole world were there, except for the three of us.

            Mom said that they spent their honeymoon in Paris, the city of romance.  She said Dad treated her like a Queen.  They ate at romantic, expensive restaurants and took walks in the moonlight.  That was the start of their happy marriage.  When Nathan came along and then three years later, me, their joy and their family was complete, until the joy that was Noelle came along.

            I think the things that make my parents' relationship work is that they are both totally committed to each other and to us.  They are always supportive of one another and us, and that can't always be easy.  They work together to solve disputes and they are each other's best friends.  It's a great example that they set for us.  Now, I don't want to give a false impression that everything between John and Abby Carter is perfect.  My parents have definitely had their share of arguments.  Mom can get a little irritable and Dad can be smothering sometimes.  But even when they are fighting you can sense the devotion they have for each other.  They never raise their voices while we are in the room, but believe me there have been many heated discussions between them behind closed doors.

            The cool thing about Mom is that she is the kind of Mom that you can sit and down tell anything to.  I love that I can approach her about any topic and she is open and honest with me.  Sometimes she offers advice, sometimes she kicks my ass for becoming involved in something that I shouldn't have, and sometimes she just hugs me while I cry.  She has always told me that if I can't tell her anything then we need to work on our relationship.  That always makes me feel like I am important to her and that she actually cares about my world, my life, even the trivial parts.

            Dad is my hero.  He is a great Doctor and an even better human being.  He has taught me so much about putting others first.  He models that to us everyday through his relationship with Mom.  I have seen him give up so much to make her happy and he has never been bitter about any of it.  I hope that I can do that someday.  Dad calls me Sydy.  I actually hate that nickname with a passion, but because it's his special name for me, I let him call me that.  No one else is allowed to though.  I actually hit Nathan in the mouth with a pen once for calling me that.

            I guess not everyone is lucky enough to be born into love. I was born into love, acceptance, belonging, and understanding, what a great gift.  I know lots of my friends have parents who are divorced, separated, or married who hate each other.  They all think that my family is surreal, modern day Leave It to Beaver.  I keep trying to tell them that it is not.  That we have had our share of heartache, of pain, of family disputes.  No family is perfect.  I know my Mom and Dad would be the first to say that ours is definitely not.  

            I can remember several occasions when life has been less than happy for us.  When Nathan first got his driver license, he had a horrible accident and broke both of his legs.  He was in the hospital for weeks and in casts for months.  Mom and Dad were so stressed that Noelle and I might as well have not even existed.  Life revolved around Nathan and his recovery.  That time in our family life was certainly not perfect.  I was jealous of my brother, for once again managing to capture the center of Mom and Dad's attention.  He also caused me to have to wait an extra year to get my license because Mom is now so anxious about teenage driving that her nerves aren't prepared to handle it yet.  

            Probably the saddest time I can remember happened when I was eight.  My Dad's grandmother, who he affectionately called Gamma, died.  She was very old and very sick and very tired, but it was still so hard on us, particularly Dad who had loved her so much. That was horrible.  It's one of the few times that I've ever seen my Dad cry.  He was so brokenhearted, Mom did her best to comfort him but it was so hard for her.  Noelle was only two and was an extreme handful.  Dad was in such a depression that he was of no help to Mom.  For a few months, we were all like walking zombies.  We were all unable to really function properly, or communicate at any level beyond surface niceties.

            It is always nice when you have good memories to counteract your bad ones.  I still remember the family vacation that we all took to Hawaii.  Dad and Mom had wanted to go there ever since they got married and they finally decided one year to go.  They were originally going to leave all of us at home but we were so persistent and so excited about the idea of seeing the Pacific Ocean that they at last caved and we all went.  I was ten that year.  I can still feel the sand between my toes and hear the roar of the waves as they crashed against the shore.  Mom and Dad said it was romantic and they grossed us out on more than one occasion with their public displays of affection.  They always remind us that at least we know they love each other.  Nathan always responds that they can love each other much better in private.  This always makes Mom blush.  I never understood why until recently when we had our woman-to-woman talk.  Anyway, Hawaii is definitely one of those memories to write in the happy column.  We had a week and a half of swimming, sunbathing, and cultural experiences that were completely new to us. 

            I used to love going into the ER with Mom and Dad.  I would get to sit at the admit counter with Jerry or Frank and help them.  Although I am pretty sure now that I caused them more work than I did help.  Dad would come by and pat the top of my head and pull a lollipop out of his lab coat pocket and I would grin and pop it in my mouth.  Mom would come by and shake her head and say "Stop giving her candy John." And he would always ask her if she wanted to do something about it.  They would always go off bantering back and forth and I would just smile and enjoy my lollipop.

            Now that I am a little older I don't take trips into the ER for lollipops.  But I still like to go and watch my Mom and my Dad work.  My Mom is a great nurse.  She has a compassionate heart and her patients can really tell that she cares.  I wonder how much patient care has taught her about parenting I will have to ask her that some time.  I love to watch Dad work now too.  He is a competent Doctor but he is not above learning new things and helping others when they need it.  I can't believe that he has been in this hospital now for over 20 years and has never grown tired of it.  I wonder what keeps him here.  I think he's just that dedicated to his profession.  I bet Nathan will be just like him as a Doctor, which will mean I will have to be proud of him too.

            Looking back at my 16 years of life I have to say that I have a lot to be thankful for.  I have the greatest parents a kid can ask for; the only thing I didn't ask for was a cocky older brother and an annoying younger sister.  But I can even put up with them if I have to.  Unfortunately, putting up with them is usually not optional. I know that I still have many lessons to learn, but I feel like I have already learned so much because I am a Carter.  And being a Carter is the greatest thing in the world.


End file.
